Islamic State now hold just 10% of Iraq

The news comes as the UK enters its second year of bombing and Iraqi forces are preparing to take the city of Mosul from Islamic State.

Michael Fallon visited the capital Baghdad and the northern city of Erbil this week, meeting Iraqi officials and UK personnel who have helped train more than 25,000 Iraqi security forces.

In the two years since air operations began Royal Air Force Tornado and Typhoon and Reaper aircraft have completed more than 1,000 strikes in Iraq and Syria, second only to the US in both countries.

Islamic State has been forced to retreat from a number of towns and cities. Since the liberation of Fallujah in late June, more than half of the RAF’s attacks have been directed towards supporting Iraqi preparations for the assault on Mosul.

According to a press release:

“UK crews have successfully struck a total of 224 terrorist targets in Syria and Iraq in that time. Some 38 targets were in and around Mosul itself, with another 91 targets around Sharqat, Qayyarah and Al Hawd.”

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

“Daesh is being defeated. It is being driven back. It now occupies less than 10% of Iraqi territory.

As well as providing strike aircraft and training to the Iraqi forces, the UK has made a large contribution to the Global Coalition’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance effort, and ships from the Royal Navy have protected US and French ships striking Daesh from the Gulf.”

Mr Fallon added:

“So two years on we’re making significant progress. This remains a hard fight. Yet Britain will not waver in our efforts to defeat the evil of our age.”